jeeze, ive fallen way behind in my beer reports

[ex-250]

lets see if i can get some quick summaries of new ones ive had lately....


-zwiec porter- poland- dark, thick, heavy....great! A-

-broughton old jock- scotland- good all around B+

-broughton merlin ale- scotland- also good, a bit lighter though IIRC B+

-lindemans lambic cassis- belgium- really good, but very different. it tastes like grape juice really. crazy stuff. A

-chimay grand reserve- belgium- its got that weird characteristically belgian taste to it. not that thats a bad thing. i thought it was pretty good. a friend of mine went nuts for it though. to each his own i guess. B

-kwak- belgium- kinda sweet, but in a really good and overall pleasing way. A

-maredsous- belgium- its got that unusual belgian character to it, but in a far more subtle way than the chimay. A-

-warsteiner- germany- tastes like honey. i shit you not. good though, with a bit of a bite (in a good way) B+

-sam adams boston ale- USA- damn good, i like it better than the regular lager. has kind of a butter sweetness to it, but at the same time a nice full body A

-sam adams white ale- USA- light, but flavorful B

-sam adams black lager- USA- not new to me by any means, but its so good i had to mention it on here. as the name implies, its black. smooth & tastey. A+

-sierra nevada pale ale- USA- i got it simply on principle of being zakk wylde's
favorite beer. pretty good, but nothing to write home about. a bit bitey. B


some of my rankings were probably a bit higher than they should be, but hey...its beer!

[vaguelee]

where do you live that you can get zwiec?
(pr. zhvietz if it matters)
I had that when i went to poland, good stuff.
But there was another kind called tyskie that i liked better.

[ex-250]

ive actually seen in relatively often. both in jersey and in delaware. ive only seen the porter in delaware though, which is where i got it. that place has a great import selection though.

[ex-250]

ive finally got all the broughtons the store near me has. the last one....

kinmount willie stout- nice and dark, thick but mellow taste. great name. B+

[Raider76]

haha cap't should give you your own beer critic column and you can update it every 2 mins with beer news like hounddawg does in rock news, because clearly you seem to know your beer

[ex-250]

nah, i got nothing on actual beer critics. i had a beer-a-day calendar last year, the descriptions were absolutely rediculous. they would talk about the most obscure hints of flavors and the way the foam settled on the sides of the glass and stuff, it was insane.

[Raider76]

nah, i got nothing on actual beer critics. i had a beer-a-day calendar last year, the descriptions were absolutely rediculous. they would talk about the most obscure hints of flavors and the way the foam settled on the sides of the glass and stuff, it was insane.

hahaha thats crazy

[ex-250]

ive had too many since my last post to remember the details, but heres one i had recently i have to mention

arcadia ales hopmouth double IPA- holy shit....hoppiest beer ever. dont think id get it again, but its just something you gotta try once. its...so....hoppy. huge bottle too. 1 pint 6 oz.

[ex-250]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c382/DigeratiPrime/holy_thread_resurrection_batman.jpg


dogfish head red & white- surprisingly belgian phenol flavor. fairly light taste, but thick consistency. somewhat bitter when warmed. B+

dogfish head worldwide stout- weird. not what i was expecting at all. had a very port-like sweet taste, but with a very thick consistency. hardly noticed the 15% alcohol. B-

dogfish head 120 minute IPA- sweet as all hell. the hoppiness of the other ___ min IPAs isnt noticeable here, as the overwhelming sweetness masks everything else about it. as with above, the 15% alcohol isnt noticeable at all (cause its so damn sweet). B

dogfish head chicory stout- nice dark, roasted flavor. reminiscent of left hand milk stout. A

dogfish head olde school- great barleywine, very pleasing mix of barley & floral hoppiness. another high alcohol one that is incredibly smooth. A

dogfish head burton baton- interesting & impressive mix of classic british ale & modern american hoppy IPA. A+

leinenkugel sunset wheat- tastes exactly like a blueberry muffin. the perfect breakfast beer. odd flavor might be shocking to some, though. A

leinenkugel oktoberfest- natural, woody flavor. takes some getting used to, but is very good. B+

sam adams chocolate bock- nice, dark. subtle chocolate flavor, not anywhere near as pronounced as i expected. letting the beer warn up to room temp brings out the chocolate and fullness; i recommend doing this. A-

sam adams triple bock- weirdest fucking beer ive ever tasted. sludgy as hell; tastes like a combination of port, prunes, and maple syrup. very thick and sweet; medicinal. leaves an insane amount of sediment in the bottle. C

sam adams imperial stout- by far the darkest head on a beer ive ever seen, its very dark brown. very roasted and rich flavor, slightly nutty. B+/A-

sam adams cranberry lambic- not a lambic at all. tastes like cranberry...bacon. fucking weird. not a fan. C-

harviestoun old engine oil black ale- dark, highly roasted flavor. thick, fairly smooth. A

harviestoun ola dubh- dark, rich, and complex. whisky cask aging adds nice detail. A

black albert royal stout- the only belgian stout ive ever had, and came highly recommended. it pretty much tastes like a combination of all the best qualities of various stouts. dark, roasted, bold and flavorful, milky, yet surprisingly carbonated. very very good, but not worth the $13/11oz bottle. A+

left hand warrior IPA- for an IPA, the hoppiness is very subtle and understated. nice and light; refreshing. B+

rogue old crustacean barleywine- my first barleywine; very rich, nice barley texture, slight floral hop flavor, slightly sweet, yet full and balanced. A

bear republic big bear black stout- the rare beer you get where its an even balance between dark, smooth stout and the hoppiness of an IPA. very satisfying. A+

samuel smith oatmeal stout- great stout. rich, dark, smooth, slight roastedness. very similar to the black albert, for a fraction of the cost. A+

samuel smith organic cider- i had no idea they made a cider. at any rate, it was very good. far less carbonated & bitey than more common ciders such as strongbow. very natural apple flavor. B+

fuller's ESB- great classic british taste. nice malt, subtle hops. smooth and very easy to drink. A

scaldis- sweet, caramel, smooth. not what i expected at all after having the scaldis noel several times. unusual for a belgian. A



there are more i could go through, but theyd be a stretch to remember. good to be back in the game (posting that is, ive never stopped drinking. haha).

[vaguelee]

Those Sam Adams limited editions have been pretty terrible lately.
Blackberry Witbier is another "winner".

[ex-250]

victory hop devil- quite hoppy, but not overbearingly sharp/flowery. an old favorite. A

victory storm king- one of those rare occasions when a stout turns out hoppy...i love when that happens. A

liefmans kriek- ive had a bunch of cherry lambics, and this one is very good. less bitter than a lot of them, and less carbonated than the lindemans. B+/A-

mississippi mud black & tan- worth buying for the jug alone. beer is decent enough, especially for $2/quart. a bit of a smokey/burnt taste to it. B

belhaven scottish ale- slightly unremarkable straight outta the fridge, but a subtle maltiness reveals itself more as it warms up. B

triumph oatmeal stout- unexpectedly sweet for a stout. smelled a bit smokey, but doesnt taste it at all. goes down very easy. A

triumph imperious (imperial pilsner)- was advertised as being painfully hoppy, but its really kinda subtle. it was still good, but i was expecting something much more extreme. hopdevil is much hoppier. this would be a good entry-level hoppy beer. B+

magic hat summer wacko- generic taste, kinda miller-ish, but its probably worth getting for the gimmick of being neon red. im not even kidding. taste: B- fun color: A+ :icon_lol:

guinness 250 anniversary stout-

long version- this one is tricky for me, because the two standard guinness variants are two of my absolute favorite beers ever. so of course a newcomer carrying the guinness name is gonna have a lot of work to do. apparently, it was made by combining regular guinness with smithwicks and adding some additional herbs and flavors. and honestly...thats pretty close to how it tastes. my main complaint though is that it lacks a real character of its own. regular guinness is smooth and silky, extra stout is heavy and roasted, and smithwicks retains some of the dark flavorings in a more carbonated refreshing form. the 250 anniversary stout, however, lacks one defining thing that stands out. its still a nice tasting beer, and the slight herbal taste does bring something a bit different to the table, itd just be more memorable if it was more pronounced. while ive mostly criticized it up to this point, i like that roasted herbal flavor that it has and considering the limited numbers its made in, im sure to buy it at least once again. its biggest drawback is having the "guinness" name on it, and thus having to stack up to the rest of the line (and considering my love of guinness, thats a very difficult task). im sure id rate the same tasting beer higher if it was something ive never heard of before, but what can i say, im biased. B+/A-

short version- not as memorable/outstanding as the rest of the guinness line, but it has a nice subtle roasted herbal flavor with more carbonation to add to the traditional guinness line. its hard to stand up to the guinness name. B+/A-

[ex-250]

remembered a couple more.....


maredsous dubbel- caramel and malty flavors make this one extremely enjoyable. mostly sweet flavors stand out, but it has enough hop flavor to balance it out. had it on tap at a restaurant, im gonna have to keep an eye out for it in stores. A+

hennepin- nice and light, subtle belgian phenol flavor brings the characteristic taste without being overbearing. B+/A-

samuel smith organic raspberry- new line of "organic fruit beers" from samuel smith (looks like i couldnt go with having completed their whole line for too long). it was actually very good, tasted like raspberry jelly if it was a lambic. still have to try the cherry and strawberry (which is probably way sweeter). one of the best fruit/lambic beers ive had. A

[axebuilder]

that dont sound bad at all

remembered a couple more.....

maredsous dubbel- caramel and malty flavors make this one extremely enjoyable. mostly sweet flavors stand out, but it has enough hop flavor to balance it out. had it on tap at a restaurant, im gonna have to keep an eye out for it in stores. A+

[ex-250]

maredsous triple- lighter than the dubbel, more present traditional belgian phenol flavoring and in a very refreshing way. more subtle maltiness but enough that it makes for a nice shared character between this and the dubbel. cant get enough of the maredsous line. A

st. bernardus abt 12- dark, fruity, and rich malt. slightly unusual, but very good. A-

cazeau tourney de noel- dark and a bit chocolatey. the most apparently flavor to me is licorice, which makes it really interesting. only had a sip of this one (somebody else ordered it and i tried some) so i cant say too much. A-

brasserie de la senne equinox- dark & roasted with some caramel flavor and a surprising (and nice) amount of hoppiness. A

corsendonk abbey brown ale- solid phenol & clove flavor, high carbonation makes it surprisingly light-tasting for such a dark colored beer. when warmed up a bit, deeper flavors surface. very clean finish. B+

st. peters cream stout- nutty as fuck! kind of a roasted peanut flavor to it that ive never experienced in a beer before. smells very sweet & syrupy, but that doesnt translate into the taste at all. very strange in terms of cream stouts (though the mouthfeel is extremely creamy so that makes sense), but the unique flavor of this one makes it extremely enjoyable. A

belhaven wee heavy- fuller & bitier than regular belhaven, but still pretty similar. you can definitely tell theyre related. B+

[ex-250]

satellite espresso stout- takes like a cup of coffee...but beer. haha. not for everyone, but i loved it. A/A+

rogue double dead guy- hoppy to the point that its sweet, as the dogfish head 120min IPA is. kind of fruity, perhaps some hints of apricot in there. good, but less exciting than the regular dead guy i thought. B+/A-

[ex-250]

he'brew genesis ale- a good standard american beer, in the vein of sam adams lager. nice hoppiness, again similar to sam. definitely worth buying for the name & bottle at least, haha. B+/A-

he'brew messiah bold- interesting mix of traditional brown ale flavors with an overall sweetness. the sweetness remains the most dominant flavor, really. strange, but good. B+/A-

[ex-250]

sierra nevada torpedo extra IPA- amazing. this may be my new favorite beer. its simultanesouly very hoppy but perfectly balanced, with piney yet sweet hops interacting with a full body and some maltiness to make it a real ballsy IPA. this beer renewed my faith in the sierra nevada brewing company. previously i had only tried their pale ale, which was far too "normal" for me, but because of this one i keep trying more and more of them. A+

sierra nevada 2009 anniversary ale- nice citrusey/piney hoppiness, but with a solid malt backbone. good on all bases. similar to the torpedo, but scaled back a bit. A

sierra nevada southern hemisphere harvest ale- very citrusey hops, making it nice and refreshing (though its hardly "light"). A-/B+

sierra nevada porter- for a company that i know best for its hoppy ales, they make a damn fine porter as well. never gets overbearing or really dry & burnt as some porters do, its somewhat creamy & bold, rich. if youre not used to porters, id say absolutely start here as its not too extreme as far as porters go. ill update this in a few days when im back at my ladyfriend's place and finish off the 6pack (its there). A-

paulaner oktoberfest marzen- delicious sweet maltiness, but never too sweet. it has some spice & hops to balance things out. a great classic malty german beer. A

bierra moretti- much lighter than i tend to like, but thats par for the course with italian beer. still pleasant and flavorful, and was great to wash down my cheesesteak. haha. B

hoppin' frog "boris the crusher" oatmeal/imperial stout- came highly recommended, but i was somewhat disappointed. it went the direction of a raisiney/fruity/sweet stout, which i dont like hardly as much as a smooth roasted creamy stout. B

hoppin' frog "mean manalishi" double IPA- very citrusey hops, nice piney bitterness, but not too extreme, none of the flavors are too over-the-top despite its "double IPA" status. A-/B+

[ex-250]

he'brew bittersweet lenny's R.I.P.A.- very rich raisin flavor, sweet hops, molasses-ey malt B+

samuel smith yorkshire stingo- good british malty ale, nice bit of toffee flavor A-

arrogant bastard ale- tons of hoppiness, but full and rich as advertised, its no beer for pussies A-/B+

[ex-250]

its been quite a while since ive updated this. had too many ive forgotten by now, so ill just go with some beers from this week....

sierra nevada celebration ale- has that classic sierra nevada hoppiness, perhaps a bit more on the citrus side than others, and with some interesting hints of spice that make it very entertaining. A

sierra nevada harvest wet hop ale, 13th release- kind of unusual for sierra nevada, its got some different character that i just cant put my finger on. perhaps its a bit of a belgian-style phenol flavor behind the grassy hops. its quite tasty though. just kept drinking and drinking it trying to place that aspect of the taste. haha. only complaint is that it isnt quite as bold as other sierra nevadas. B+/A-

[vaguelee]

Kickin' back with a 22oz of Cadillac Mt. Stout.
Stouts aren't really my thing, but it is growing on me
sip by sip. Sweeter than I'd expected. Chocolatey, kinda coffee
flavored. Anyway, it's a pretty highly regarded stout, made me think
of shred's resident beer geek.

[ex-250]

nice. ill have to keep an eye out for that one

[ex-250]

yards philadelphia pale ale- really nice sweet/fruity hop flavor. great summer beer. A

stone levitation ale- balanced earthy/smokiness, mild underlying hops. B+

[ex-250]

sierra nevada pale ale- i first had it years ago and wasnt blown away, but had it again recently and fell in love. i think my problem before is i had it ice-cold, and it needs to warm up a little for the real flavor to come out. and when it does, its just delicious. crisp, refreshing, very flavorful and present hops. A

left hand 400 pound monkey- the name is just remarkable. the beer is alright. it has an odd mix of maltiness and bitterness to it, a strange combination of flavors overall. i just looked up some reviews of it to get my head around it a bit better, and someone described it as "bready," which i think hits it right on the head. B

[ex-250]

yards IPA- great full flavor, deep and rich with nice citrus hops on top, at times the hops take on a nice fruit sweetness. interesting woody taste. when warmed slightly, the malt really comes out. A-/A

[ex-250]

rogue double chocolate stout- very smooth, rich chocolatey flavor. terrific. A

left hand twin sisters double IPA- nice hoppy taste, slightly bitter but balanced and never overbearing. a sweet hoppiness. A

[Ironbird666]

This thread was pretty damn awesome. I'm more of a casual beer drinker and I prefer the more exotic beers (well, I've had nothing like what's been listed but I don't drink the normal American beers) so this was pretty damn helpful to me. I'll be checking out some of these when I get home. I used to have a pretty bad drinking problem (PTSD related) but I've been in control for a few years now, but I still like to pick up a six pack every couple months or so and enjoy a beer or two a night. :thumbs:

[ex-250]

good to know its helpful. its become more of a way to track my drinking, this way i dont forget what certain beers ive had are like.
aaaand for today...


sam adams latitude 48 IPA- rich, with a great bitter hoppiness. sometimes sam adams' more extraneous releases tend to be a little weird, but this one was extremely pleasing. A-/A

unibroue don de dieu- on the lighter side, but quite flavorful. caramel sweetness makes a nice counterbalance to the sour phenol. A

[RockStringBender]

Pbr ftw

[ex-250]

unibroue ephemere- weird, but good. its brewed with applejuice and spices. lots of apple in the scent, but the taste is all herbal and spices. unusual, but definitely worth trying. B+

flyish fish double dog double IPA- bold, robust hoppiness. high hop content makes for a great balance of sugar sweetness and complex bitterness. A-

[ex-250]

left hand sawtooth ale- much more subtle than i expected, reminds me of an english ale. its got a smooth underlying malt with some buttery hints. B+/A-

dogfish head saison du buff- holy shit this is fantastic. its refreshing, very citrusey, quite unique. may not be for everyone, but i love it. A+

troegs dead reckoning porter- amazing. the unique hoppiness and smoothness combined with traditional porter roasted/earthy qualities are something ive never tasted before. its like somebody combined an IPA, a porter, and a guinness. an absolute winner. i could drink this till the end of time. A+

[thecharmingnorth]

ex-250 thats quite a range!

What is your most favourite?
have you tried LEFFE brun?

love thy beer!:jointsmoke::beerchug: